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A G E N T
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M A J O R
M A R K E T S ]
New Zealand
HSBC
HSBC Auckland is the inheritor of the sub-custody business of
Westpac, which the giant global bank acquired in 2006. It has
attracted easily the most respondents in this market, and their
collective verdict is a familiar one. HSBC employs capable staff
to work with them, manages their accounts adroitly, settles their
trades efficiently, keeps their cash and securities safely, and
insulates them from regulatory risk. But they also want a deeper
and more seamless relationship and think the bank could do
more to contain its prices and reduce spread-driven costs and
opportunity costs in cash and FX.
BNP Paribas Securities Services
The attraction of the rapidly growing pension fund and asset
management market of New Zealand to the global custody arm
of BNP Paribas Securities Services is the same as that of an ad-
jacent country across the Tasman Sea, especially if it generates
outbound assets for the bank to safekeep not just in Europe but
in Asia and North America. But the French bank also offers local
settlement and custody from Wellington, and the small number
of clients that have responded mark the core services generous-
ly, while reserving judgment on the true banking services.
J.P. Morgan
The J.P. Morgan business in New Zealand is, like its business
everywhere, the product of multiple mergers over a long period.
One result is that its investor services arm counts a number of
New Zealand superannuation funds among its global custody
clients. Another consequence of the acquisition is that the bank
now services the sub-custody clients of the former ANZ Custo-
dian Services operation, acquired by J.P. Morgan in 2009. Those
clients that have taken the trouble to complete a long question-
naire rate the bank relatively highly in areas of obvious strength
(notably asset safety).
Citi
Clients of Citi in Auckland have not responded in large enough
numbers to assess how well the average client is serviced. But a
close reading of the submissions received suggests they are hap-
py with the settlement of their trades, and the simpler aspects
off asset servicing, but are disappointed by the opacity and lack
of choice in cash and FX. They would also like more dynamic
pricing models, clearer insights into what is driving the costs of
the services and a better and faster stream of information to help
them manage their local liquidity needs more aggressively.
NAB Asset Servicing
National Australia Bank (NAB) has always owned an impres-
sive roster of end-investor and fund management clients in the
domestic markets – the bank outsources their global custody
needs – it serves. This helps to explain why it is now the only
Australasian bank to retain a custody business of its own. After
a period of uncertainty a few years ago, NAB has formulated a
fresh strategy and is investing in the business. It is invidious to
gauge the success of the new approach from so few responses.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES
HSBC JP Morgan BNP Paribas Citi NAB
Market share (% of responses) 48% 19% 14% 14% 5%
Relationship management 4.84 5.56 n/a n/a Client service 5.59 4.98 n/a Account management 5.55 4.55 n/a Asset safety 5.39 5.36 Risk management 5.52 5.93 Liquidity management 4.86 Regulation and compliance 5.72 Innovation Asset servicing Market Average Global Average
n/a 5.10 5.20
n/a n/a 5.35 5.40
n/a n/a 5.33 5.44
n/a n/a n/a 5.50 5.68
n/a n/a n/a 5.52 5.46
4.47 n/a n/a n/a 4.57 4.89
6.05 n/a n/a n/a 5.82 5.64
5.01 4.88 n/a n/a n/a 5.07 5.18
5.17 5.01 n/a n/a n/a 5.17 5.09
Pricing 5.16 5.27 n/a n/a n/a 5.22 4.82
Technology 4.92 5.08 n/a n/a n/a 5.08 5.28
Cash management and FX 4.44 4.48 n/a n/a n/a 4.18 4.25
Total 5.23 5.25 n/a n/a n/a 5.22 5.24
92
Global Custodian
Fall 2018